Driving the 5.0 in snow

[Gahaha]

On Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, about 2 inches of snow, for 25 miles.....Was not a fun time
Even in snow mode, the back will still kick out on you at 1.5k RPM.

 

[NSXNEXT]

I put a 50lb sand bag in the trunk over each rear wheel. Helped a lot.

 

[SuperKing]

I have AS3+ currently and I feel the DWS06 does better in the snow... I was going uphill in 6" of fresh powder but I also have a Canadian car so it's an AWD V8...

Here's something interesting though... I brought my car to the dealer this week because I had a faulty wheel speed sensor. That knocked out my traction control, stability control, AWD, power steering, AEB, BSD, etc... there was a half inch of snow on the ground and holy crap, the car is scary to drive without all the electronic nannies... without traction, stability and AWD, the car is basically a Foxbody Mustang... it's a heavy 5.0 RWD with an open diff. I touch the throttle and I have a spinning rear wheel. When I manage to get going, rear end wants to slide to the right. I'm surprised the car doesn't have a mechanical LSD in the back. It's like I'm 17 again when I actually drove a 5.0 Foxbody... lol

 

[Suburbazine]

A/S 3+ is only rated for a quarter inch of snow. You're deep into winter tire territory.

 

[bigpapainscotia]

i have a AWD in this harsh Canadian weather and the car drives like truck . It will power through all of the snow and wet snow without a slide. I also have real winter tires on not all season and this help a lot. I have Pirelli winter sottozero.

 

[kocyk123]

I freaking love AWD in our Gennies. I was able to go uphill with a snow that was little higher than the bottom of the front bumper and I was literally pushing it. It was on All Season Pirelli P7 Cinturato tires.

 

[Chylly]

I realize this thread is aging, but I am new to the forum and need a little help if anyone is still following this. I am about to purchase a used 2017 G90 V8 with rear wheel drive (it has Bridgestone tires on it, but I didn't notice which type). I live in New England with an often icy driveway and a hill approaching it. I also sometimes park on a grassy hill in the summer and have to back up to the tar road. Does anyone have any experience of how the RWD version handles in these conditions? I used to have a rear-wheel drive Volvo years ago and it would slide sideways at the first hint of snow or ice. (It, however, did not have traction control.) I would not like to repeat that experience and am hoping the RWD G90 can handle mild challenges like this gracefully.

 

[Suburbazine]

Run snow tires. Shouldn’t have much of an issue. Ice is entirely dependent on type, the G90 is heavy and mechanical grip is not something that will be overcome by 2 or 4 wheel drive.

 

[EdP]

I realize this thread is aging, but I am new to the forum and need a little help if anyone is still following this. I am about to purchase a used 2017 G90 V8 with rear wheel drive (it has Bridgestone tires on it, but I didn't notice which type). I live in New England with an often icy driveway and a hill approaching it. I also sometimes park on a grassy hill in the summer and have to back up to the tar road. Does anyone have any experience of how the RWD version handles in these conditions? I used to have a rear-wheel drive Volvo years ago and it would slide sideways at the first hint of snow or ice. (It, however, did not have traction control.) I would not like to repeat that experience and am hoping the RWD G90 can handle mild challenges like this gracefully.

Snow tires and toss 50 pounds of something in the trunk. For ice, easy--stay home. Nothing works well on ice.

 

[Chylly]

Snow tires and toss 50 pounds of something in the trunk. For ice, easy--stay home. Nothing works well on ice.

Yes. I used to put my St. Bernard in the back of my RWD Volvo wagon when it snowed. That helped some. Even more if I threw in her 50 pound sack of dog food!
But seriously, thanks for the advice guys. I really love the car I’ve been looking at and I want it now. I suppose a wiser man would wait for the AWD version to come along, but I could be wise and dead. I think I’ll grab this one while I can.
Of course, part of my madness could come from the fact I’m in the sunny south. It’s easy to forget what snow looks like when you’re here.
And, I’ll remember to put a tag line on my next post, Suburbazine.

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[jimmy buoy]

Go for it. I've driven Genesis V6 RWD, Genesis V8 RWD, and now Genesis V8 AWD here in Canadian winters without any major issues. That being said, I invested in X-Ice Michelins on OEM rims long ago since it's not realistic to expect any RWD sedan to handle snow/ice like we can get without them. Yes, my current AWD is definitely better at launching in snow/ice, but it doesn't stop any faster in those same conditions. I can think of only 1 case with RWD when it was an issue and that was trying to leave a parallel parked position with a car parked in front, car parked in back, and the road had a major crest in the centre. It was really tricky to get onto the road since the back end kept sliding down towards the curb, but were talking about snowy, greasy, thick slush with ice underneath. Lots of cars needed pushes to get out of similar binds. A big problem was the traction control system intervening - just shut it off when that happens.

So when it snows just go out and brush up on your skills in a safe area to be ready for those few and far between "tight spots".

 

[G-69545]

Thanks, JB. That’s just what I needed (and wanted ) to hear. I always enjoyed drifting my Volvo’s in snowy corners, a thrill that was denied me once I got AWD. So, I can look forward to that youthful pleasure in my 5,000 pound G90. All I needed to know was that the RWD model isn’t unusually bad on the snow, and you have kindly reassured me there. So, off I go with my life savings (or what’s left of them) to make one car dealership exceptionally happy (and me, too).
BTW, I have visited a number of dealerships on this search and I’ve never seen them so empty. They seem almost surprised when I walk in.

 

[G-780020]

Thanks, JB. That’s just what I needed (and wanted ) to hear. I always enjoyed drifting my Volvo’s in snowy corners, a thrill that was denied me once I got AWD. So, I can look forward to that youthful pleasure in my 5,000 pound G90. All I needed to know was that the RWD model isn’t unusually bad on the snow, and you have kindly reassured me there. So, off I go with my life savings (or what’s left of them) to make one car dealership exceptionally happy (and me, too).
BTW, I have visited a number of dealerships on this search and I’ve never seen them so empty. They seem almost surprised when I walk in.

You might want to invest in snow tires, it is very bad and borderline undriveable in snow on All Seasons. Either that or be extremely careful as the back will walk on you extremely quick and often beyond the reaction time of most.

 

[jimmy buoy]

Thanks, JB. That’s just what I needed (and wanted ) to hear. I always enjoyed drifting my Volvo’s in snowy corners, a thrill that was denied me once I got AWD. So, I can look forward to that youthful pleasure in my 5,000 pound G90. All I needed to know was that the RWD model isn’t unusually bad on the snow, and you have kindly reassured me there. So, off I go with my life savings (or what’s left of them) to make one car dealership exceptionally happy (and me, too).
BTW, I have visited a number of dealerships on this search and I’ve never seen them so empty. They seem almost surprised when I walk in.

No worries. Another good thing is the traction and stability control are quite good for ensuring you get around slippery corners safely although as I said, there are times when it can be a bit too pronounced - for those times just shut it off. The other great feature which I'm sure is available on the G90 is "snow mode" for the transmission. Just hold the transmission drive mode switch down for a few seconds and you'll see on the dash that "snow mode" has been engaged. This does a couple of things. First, it forces the car to start in second gear to reduce torque and wheel spin. Secondly, it reduces the input from the throttle pedal to the engine enough that you are less likely to break the drive tires loose by pressing the throttle too much at first launch.
I think you'll find it quite a change from your old Volvo with the Genesis systems running. You will still be able to drift the back end in corners at low speeds, but once at higher speeds the controls will hit individual front brakes as required and retard the engine power until it senses that the car is back in control - that translates into "you are then going slower around corners like a sensible safe driver would.
It can be a blast though to shut down the "nanny" and have some good old drifting fun in the snow!